Still Healing!!!

Well I had to go to the chiropractor yesterday to get worked over since I was in quite a bit of pain from the wreck Monday night. Of course I didn't get to see the wreck but it didn't seem like I should have gotten hurt so bad. I know, some of the guys are thinking "man, what a pansy". That's okay, I been called a puss before........but I don't care what my wife says about me. My shoulder feels really good today, I'm still limiting the range of movement with it but it's doing really good. My groin and hip are still pretty sore today, when I got up this morning it was really tight. It didn't help that after I got up I had to go outside and hop in my cold pickup to go to work and then when I got to work I had to go into the freezer to get things pulled out for the day. I popped some Ibuprofen and of course I am on my feet all day so it loosened up pretty quick. Felt good most of the day, that is until I got home and sat down for a while. More Ibuprofen and I'm good to go again.

Ice Capedes

I went out with Coach, Denny, James, and Stoney for a snow covered gravel road ride this afternoon, the gravel sections were really fun to ride once you got a feel for them. It was a lot of fun to get out and ride with a group. The ride heading out of town was a bit sketchy with some slush sections that would let your front wheel drift and float instead of roll through. The first downhill after we left Coach's house was a bit intense for me, I almost got my skirt caught in the chain (it had to be creating drag because everyone was pulling away from me). Everything was going really well until we hit the ice covered paved section of blacktop, the majority of us hit the ground early on this section. Denny was the first to go down, the bike just slid out from under him (I know, how does a bike slide on a solid sheet of ice?). Not long after that James went down very quickly......did I mention that he was right in front of me and it sure is hard to react when your riding on ice. I hit his leg and the impact shot intense pain into my left shoulder, it felt like the ball joint had shifted in the socket and then released when I finally got up. After I hit James' leg I quickly went down on my right hip and upper arm, I have a pretty good strawberry on my hip but the pain is in my shoulder. It is the same pain I had when I went down on Humpty Dumpty and also when I bit it hard on the service road (the impact pushing my arms into my shoulders), it wasn't as bad this time but it was still extreme pain. It took me much longer to get up than anyone else, I must have been auditioning for a drama or something. If that was my best catlike reflexes then I must be that 35 lb cat that just lays next to the window and soaks in the sun. Denny went down again a bit later, I think he hurt his thumb pretty good and James called a little bit ago to check on me and said that he hurt his wrist. I rode very cautiously until we got to gravel again and then had to ride into the wind (it was great training). Every time I would grip my handlebars tight while trying to accelerate I had pain shooting through my left shoulder, it wasn't very pleasant. The ride through town was the worst for me, it was dark and most of the streets were ice (it took me a long time to get home).

Did I mention that Stoney was on a single speed? I bet his legs are feeling it right about now.

Bitter Christmas?

Well another Christmas Day has come and gone, most people anxiously await this time of year whether it's for family gatherings, the holiday spirit, or maybe just for presents. I personally can't stand this time of year, I have a real bitter attitude during the holiday season. It's my choice to be that way but working in retail can do that to a person, I get tired of having to work when people are off and spending time with family and friends. Sure the moneys good but that only gets you so far, most people make memories every year from a special gathering instead nowadays I would rather just sit at home because by the time I get off I am exhausted and then have to get up early to do it all over again. Now at least I didn't have to work Christmas Day, my sister-in-law did have to, Molly told me I would have to quit if that was the case. I know I'm pissing and moaning but hey, it's my blog and I can do what I want to.

I do enjoy watching the kids open presents, I remember being that age and the excitement was intense, so much that I could hardly wait for Christmas morning. I must have been a bad boy this year because Santa (that fat bastard) didn't leave a Gary Fisher Superfly 100 under my tree this year, must not have been able to get those 29" wheels down my chimney......hey, I don't have a chimney.

Passive And Aggressive

Personalities......your either one or the other, and I am the one that most people view as the weaker...passive. Like anyone I can be aggressive but most of the time I am very laid back. I have heard that we get our personality by the age of 2 and having children of my own it is very interesting to see how similar and how different each of them are in different areas. I would not dare try to change my kids personality because that is who they are and this is who I am whether I or anyone else likes it or not.

Sometimes the ability to be more aggressive comes with being more comfortable, this can also turn around and bite you in the ass if your not careful. I have proof of that, it's a little section known as "Humpty Dumpty". If your reading this I'm sure you know the story but I'll refresh you. Denny and I were pre riding the course for RIM at crowder, we weren't riding all that fast in fact we were just having a good time. Well that was until I started the downhill toward Humpty Dumped Me, I was feeling good and letting my Epic eat up some trail until I launched off the first drop and stuck my front wheel into the next water bar (while I was in the air I remember thinking Oh crap....I am going a little too fast). I am still amazed at how much can go through an individuals head in such a short amount of time. When I hit that bar I started a front wheelie (in a bouncing fashion), after the second or third bounce I quickly came to terms with the fact that I was going to eat it big time (this all had to happen in just about 1 second). I remember grabbing for brake but you can squeeze your rear brake as hard as you want but if your rear tire is nowhere near the ground it doesn't matter so in a panic I grabbed the front brake......it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happen next (I'm pretty sure I would have endoed anyway but I just sped up the process). I remember slamming my left shoulder into the ground and my body went tumbling over my head, if that wasn't bad enough my legs were still wrapped around my bike. That was the first revolution, on the next one my bike broke free from my body and kept tumbling down the hill until it came to a sudden stop into a tree, my helmet caught another water bar and got wedged and I rolled slowly over the top of it (I remember thinking I might break my neck). I quickly got up thinking I could shake it off but very quickly found myself back on the ground, I was feeling severe pain in several areas of my body and was very shaken. Denny checked on me and then recovered my bike from down the hill. I don't know how long it took me to recover enough to get back on my bike but I'm sure it was a little while. When I finally got back on I found out very quickly that my front wheel was "jacked up" and was unable to ride the bike.

It is important to get back into the saddle after something like that and I did that two days later, I was able to borrow a wheel for the race and competed in the 12 hr solo division. I took that section a lot slower than I usually do especially on my last lap which was in the dark and in the pouring rain!!! It took over 2 weeks for the swelling to go down in my upper arm and shoulder, I'm glad it wasn't worse.

I'm glad that section of trail already had a name, I hear there is a section at Swope that was named after my riding partner that day....."Jaw Breaker"!!!!

Warmth

There's just something about warmth, it is something that brings comfort, it soothes, and it relaxes your body and your mind. Maybe it's sitting on the couch under a blanket or sitting in front of the fireplace or soaking in a hot tub, wherever or whatever it is it usually makes us all feel better. I enjoy a cup of coffee but for me there's nothing quite like the first cup of the day, with the steam pouring out of the top of the cup and feeling the soothing liquid warm me for the inside out. I know when I am not feeling well the thing that makes me feel the best is sitting on the floor of the shower and pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs and laying my head on my knees and letting the warm water just pour over my head and body, again it soothes and relaxes when nothing else seems to help.

I try to do as much cold weather riding as I possibly can, partly to maintain fitness but also I know my body is burning extra calories trying to stay warm. Warmth or the lack there of can make for a great ride or make it a miserable time on the road or trails. I have pushed the envelope a bit too far a couple times, even with some really good cold weather gear, I have had some severe pain due to my digits getting too cold. I'm sure we are all about the same, it's our fingers and toes that feel it the most, I haven't purchased winter shoes so I have paid the price before and probably will again in the future. I do have some good gear that makes a big difference and I know my limits so I try not to get over eager and step out too far if I know it spells disaster with the cold (there are other options available). Tonight I tried a very thin pair of socks under my wool socks but even though they were thin it didn't leave enough dead air space to trap some heat and allowed the cold air to shoot through to my toes. I have a couple pair of really nice wool socks and the combination of a pair of them with my fleece lined shoe covers it usually makes for a mostly comfortable ride, my toes are usually cold when I'm done but not frozen. It's not as good as winter shoes but I'll ride with what I have for right now. I do have a really nice pair of gloves that do a great job, I did have some cold fingers on one bitter cold ride a couple weeks ago but for the most part my fingers stay warm. Tonight was really pretty comfortable temperatures so it really wasn't an issue, I would prefer to be sweating my tail off in the middle of July but it was still pleasant.

Beware on the trails.

Just a heads up that if you see an "innocent" squirrel while your out riding the trails you might keep your eyes peeled for this guy. I don't know how many there are that are undercover but there has to be at least this one, it has to be real because I found it on the internet.

Meat And Potatoes

This post has nothing to do about cycling, other than the fact that I get so pissed off at myself for eating a bunch of food and not getting as many workouts as I would like. When I am in a routine.....a good routine I do very well, I am focused and my habits and performance echo each other. I know it is a mindset, I just have to continue to treat my body like it's summer time and get after burning calories. I know for me it is hard to maintain a routine when my schedule changes day to day, I may work at 3 am. one day and 4 a.m. the next and then 6 a.m. the next. It sure makes it hard on your system when I am eating at all different times of the day and my body is wore out early in the day on an early shift, especially when the kids don't get to bed until a certain time. It isn't always tough but some days it is pretty rough.

Okay I think I'll go kick the shit out of myself for eating to much......again.

Hardest Spin Yet

Last night Mark had spin class amped up big time, it was a painful experience. There was NO recovery for the whole class. We did time trial pace at lactic threshold for a fairly long song and then about 2 minutes of risers (15 sec up, 15 down for the 2 minutes) and then right back into the fast time trial pace and so on and so on. I would catch myself backing off so I would have to get after it again, my left calf was on the verge of cramping......stupid drinking coffee all day!!! It was good to sweat my tail off again......spin class is kinda like riding a bike, some things you just don't forget (no wait....it has to be your bull....). Some of you might not get that reference.

Had a really good turnout last night too, there was even a special presentation at class!!!!

No Guts....No Glory

So if I don't have the guts to ride outside today, does that mean there is no glory? Well, there will be no glory today!!! I don't mind some pain and torture but it is a bit extreme for safety today. I plan to be at the Y tonight, I have got to get my routine dialed back in.....my legs are begging for some pain (they might think again after I'm done!!).

My fingers and toes are tingling

I knew I couldn't make it to spin class tonight since Brady has his Christmas program at school tonight so I decided I was going for a ride this afternoon. People kept coming into the store today and saying how cold it was and that it was starting to flurry outside, that wasn't very promising for my plans. When I left work it was cold but I didn't think it was too awful bad so I went home and started prepping for a road ride. I layered very well and got to put my new Specialized Sub Zero gloves with a fleece liner to their biggest test yet, my fingertips were frozen. These gloves are great but I tend to get cold very easily and when riding into the wind the cold air got to my fingers, basically my index finger and middle finger on my left hand and my little finger on my right hand. I rotate my fingers between my palm and handlebar while I ride to block direct wind and this helps but I couldn't fight off the cold the whole time. I stopped 3 times to warm up my hands, it wasn't a big deal, just took a little longer to get home. Actually the last stop I realized my fingers weren't cold, they were on fire from heating back up....OUCH!!! By this time my toes were getting cold and when I got back home they were very cold....not frozen but very cold. Another 20 min or so and they would have been in some serious pain. I layered well and was comfortable everywhere else on my body.

I rode on Monday and avg 20.1 on the loop, I rode hard but didn't go all out so I was pleased with that performance. Today was a different story, I avg 17.6 and it was not pleasing....I had to dig deep in the toliet to pull that one out. But today was not about numbers it was about spending time on the bike and burning calories.

Taking Some Steps

Okay, I know I just posted about an hour or two ago but I decided to take some steps to make me feel like I should ride more. I went down to the basement and gave myself my buzz cut, went upstairs and shaved my face and then shaved my legs. It had been a while since I had shaved my legs, it was like I had starred in a cheap movie....."Star Wars: Return of the Yeti"!!!

I feel like a biker again!!!

Blurred Thoughts?????

I have definitely neglected this blog for a few weeks, it seems that I have not been focused on much of anything here lately. I feel as though I am being pulled in 20 different directions with no "true direction" in front of me. With a barrage of things that have been happening, seemingly all at the same time, I find myself unfocused and full of stress and worry.....not a good combination. Do you ever feel like your life is in a downward spiral? I know each of us has a purpose, but when things get hazy it seems difficult to hold a line.

I did take a hiatus from heavy riding to deer hunt for about 10 days, it did me good to sit in a tree for hours at a time alone with my thoughts but it also linked itself to allowing myself to drift into the "what if?" thoughts. Molly has been battling this stomach issue for quite some time and with no real answers sometimes the scary thoughts try to creep into your head, I won't write out the thoughts but I'm sure you get the idea. I know she is in good hands, she has been doing really well this past week, it's just frustrating (especially for her) that we haven't gotten it 100% taken care of.....yet!!!

I haven't been able to ride much with her being less than 100% for several days and me being needed at home more, I am happy to fulfill my responsibilities but not being able to relinquish the added stress makes things a bit tougher. I feel as though I have put a couple pounds back on, that doesn't scare me because I know how to take it off, but it does piss me off big time!!!!!

I miss racing, not because I am overly fast or all that good but because that is the best training out there. It is so hard to simulate (at least for me) race speed and intensity while training, and only getting a ride in here and maybe there my fitness isn't anything near what it was. I know that a person needs to have a bit of rest to recharge the batteries, I just hadn't planned on taking this kind of break. I'm not sure what 2010 has lined up for me, I may not be racing as much as I would like but I plan to ride even more than before. I have some training workouts that I had thought about over the summer that I need to commit to print and schedule myself a workout plan. I need to be more goal oriented with everything, riding included, I need to "plan my work, and work my plan". I would like to do Lumberjack again this year, I have even thought about going single speed but there are so many big ring sections that it makes it hard for me to commit to one gear. I hit the whole range on gears the past two years at Lumberjack, cranking the big ring and grinding the granny gear (especially the last lap) on those long ass climbs, I'm not even sure what gear ratio I would run. I would have to contact every single speed racer that I could to find out what ratio they ran. I would really like to buy a new geared 29er and race it but I don't think that will happen in the next several months, but you never know!!! If I ride the same bike for quite some time that is okay too because I have an awesome bike (it's just hard to make some of those switchbacks with the training wheels on).